Student Loans

The Emory Office of Financial Aid (OFA) assists eligible students with applying for and obtaining student loans. Among the factors you should consider before obtaining a loan are your total indebtedness, including undergraduate student loans; mean time to degree in your department or program; and estimated starting salaries in your field. There is no magic formula, but there are reliable calculators that can help masters and doctoral students make informed decisions about the timing and the amount of student loans.

For general information about student loans, consult Emory's Office of Financial Aid, the U.S. Department of Education, and FinAid. All students, even those who receive stipend support, are advised to submit the forms that would determine financial need. The process usually requires information from the previous year's tax return. The national clearing agency usually takes about four to six weeks to process. Loan eligibility, based on the needs assessment, is established by the OFA.

You may not anticipate the need for a loan and therefore may never discuss the form with an OFA counselor. However, if some unforeseen emergency affecting your finances arises, and you must find out quickly about loan eligibility, the OFA can do an assessment in a few days, instead of weeks, if you have a current needs assessment on file.